EVENTS
years. For example, compaction roller sales in 2017 were down 15 – 20 % year-on-year in the different ranges in South Africa, with 350 – 400 units being sold per year for the past three years. Roller sales are linked to infrastructure development, and government expenditure has been very limited in the past few years and in some provinces, non-existent. The sector is currently under pressure and declining with no real growth potential in sight. We hope, however, that the market will now start to stabilise as it is an integral part of the southern African countries and is key to our country’ s growth.”
And when it comes to trends to watch in the mining and construction industry, Kukard points to an increased focus on both safety and efficiency, as well as towards autonomous operation.“ The primary area for investment in Africa as a whole is infrastructure,” he adds.“ This is a vital area for any country to grow its economy and to promote investment.”
Eazi Access, which turns 15 this year, will be attending bauma CONEXPO AFRICA for the third time, having participated in both previous editions of the trade fair.“ It is a wonderful opportunity to exhibit at bauma CONEXPO AFRICA, network, and share insights around the mining and construction industries,” says Eazi Access national sales executive Larry Smith.“ It is great to see how CONEXPO and bauma have joined forces to create bauma CONEXPO. This provides us with an extended platform with better exposure to a larger group of quality customers, to showcase our work at height and our material-handling solutions.”
Smith believes that in 2018, mines will continue to focus on sustainable growth.“ With the appreciation of the rand, we expect that mines will be under increased pressure to keep costs to a minimum and ensure they increase production output. We also see a clear focus developing on specific types of machines: for construction, rotating telehandlers and compact crawler cranes have dominated the European market for many years, and are getting good traction in our local markets. When it comes to mining, customers are looking at alternative materialhandling solutions, especially to lift materials to specific heights. Compact crawler cranes offer a cost-effective solution that can not
Eazi Access
Larry Smith, Eazi Access national sales executive.
only significantly increase productivity on site, but also ensure that construction contractors can meet their tight deadlines.”
He adds, however, that times are still tough for southern Africa’ s equipment industry, and businesses across the country need to spend wisely.“ Some are not able to make investments into purchasing new machines, but we believe rental solutions will allow them to enjoy the use of the required equipment without an impact on their already strained capital demands. This will allow companies to focus their capital to fund their core business activities.” Given the continued increase in commodity prices over the past two years, the company expects regions with significant mining activity to benefit substantially from increased activity on existing sites, as well as from the construction of greenfield mining projects that have been on ice for the past few years.
New( er) comers Not all exhibitors have been involved with the show since its beginning. Some are signing up for the first time in 2018 in the face of improving market conditions, while for others, this will be their second time taking part in the exhibition.
Having previously attended the 2015 exhibition under the name Maximum Equipment upon launching its range of Hidromek excavators, this year the company will be exhibiting under the Hidromek brand name.“ We are really excited about this year’ s event, because in addition to showcasing our range of Hidromek excavators— including launching the new heavy-duty 39-tonne HMK 370 LC HD excavator to the South African market— we will also be launching the Hidromek TLB [ tractor-loader backhoe ] range,” says Vaughan Ellis, MD of Maximum Equipment. He adds that while the Hidromek TLBs have been available in the country for a number of years, Hidromek has made the decision to begin consolidating its product range under a single dealer, and this will be Maximum Equipment’ s first official event as the newly appointed dealers for its TLB range.
This optimism carries over into the market as a whole.“ We are expecting to see a reversal of the last two years’ decline and a turnaround in the industry in southern Africa,” says Ellis, adding:“ The major challenges facing the market for 2018 will likely be sociopolitical issues and the resultant rand volatility.” He identifies new industry players, improving technology, and advances in
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MARCH 2018